


Unlikely

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 16:59:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7471845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off of imaginexhobbit's: Imagine sacrificing yourself to the dragon Smaug for the safety of your people and end up forming a close friendship with him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unlikely

“Someone has to go! Smaug will kill us if we don’t do something!”

Panicked chattering fills the town square. Families huddle together. Fear is heavy in the air. It won’t take long before the hysteria drives people to do outrageous things. You can’t stand seeing this any longer. Everyone is getting nowhere and Smaug’s deadline is fast approaching as the sun sets. You take one last look at everyone and decide to volunteer. With no close family left you have the least to lose.

“I’ll do it.” Your declaration breaks through the chaos and everything seems to pause for a moment.

No one dares to speak in case you’ll change your mind. Then everyone cheers. They thank you, say they are forever in your debt, but you know better than to believe them. In a couple days, maybe even hours, they’ll forgot about you just like they did the last time they made a deal with the elves. No one even remembers that volunteer’s name.

They send you with food -enough for a month- and give you the instructions on how to reach Smaug. The winding, steep path is cracking. It looks like on breeze could topple the whole structure. The lonely mountain doesn’t look any better. You have to admit though the structure is impressive despite its broken state. Smaug had created a hole into the castle for escape and the human that would be sacrificed. Well, the town people never used that word, but everyone knows that’s what it means be a volunteer.

The dark castle’s interior is as cold as the exterior. It is like an empty shell that still has echoes of the grand parties that filled its halls with mirth. The only implication of any warmth is far into the distance and below. A golden glow draws you like a moth to a flame.

There is an unbelievable amount of gold. Piles upon piles. Mountains.

“So this is what it looks like.” You whistle in admiration.

As you go down the steps a mountain of gold shifts. A gargantuan dragon emerges from the gold his body casting a heavy shadow on the walls.

“And who are you?” His molten eyes burn into you making you feel even smaller than you are in comparison.

“Y/N. I’m from-” Smaug’s calculating stare cuts you down and you pause. “I’m the sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice?” Smaug chortles. His laugh deeper than his normal voice sends shivers down your spine. Why did I volunteer again? “What use could someone like you be to me? A weak, pathetic human.”

Smaug’s amusement ticks you off but not more than the realization of your situation. Your town was never in danger because of Smaug. But they are in debt. Your “sacrifice” would be the perfect distraction. While Smaug swallows you whole they can get away with enough gold to pay back debts and survive for years.

“Those assholes.” Smaug looks more and more amused. Your self preservation instinct checks out for a moment and you sneer at him. That only further amuses the dragon who is now peacefully laying down on his gold watching the “show”.

“Pathetic but interesting.” Smaug says it more to himself but doesn’t bother trying to lower his tone.

The sound of approaching footsteps, attempting to be stealthy but far too rushed, catches both your attentions. Surprising you and annoying Smaug.

His bemused face turns sour. The tops of the looting army peek over the top of the stairs. Smaug puffs his chest, the scales brighten except for a single patch. As easily as you exhale Smaug unleashes a blistering shot of fire. Screams of pain momentarily fill the other empty castle before fading away.

You turn back towards Smaug and can’t help but be amazed at how easily he did that. Sure you’d heard stories but no one has ever seen it. Yet, it means nothing to Smaug. His face loses all expression.

“Leave. Tell your village that if they wish to steal my gold again the same fate will befall them.”

Bewildered you ask, “So, I can just leave? Just like that?”

Smaug stares at you out of the corner of his eye. Are you going to make me repeat myself?

You look at the stairs and leave. The stench of charred bodies hangs in the air and singes your nostrils. You try your hardest to touch the least amount of flesh, occasionally feeling it’s tough yet gelatinous texture against your fingers. The bodies tumble down the mountain landing on the outskirts of the town. You see lights turn on and hear the frenzy begin when the first villager spots the nearly unrecognizable carcasses.

With the faintest of smirks on your face you go back into the castle. This is your chance. The town will think you’re dead and you get a clean break, a shove into deep water, to do everything you never thought you could. Smaug doesn’t shift as you lay down on a pile of gold. The cold metal tickles your skin but quickly becomes manageable as they match your body heat.

The night ends and you wake up to a tiny streak of sunlight making the gold glitter. The pain in your stomach stops you from falling back asleep. Checking your rations you see that there is not ever a day’s worth of food inside. One loaf of bread at the top concealed the stones placed to weight the satchel. Your anger is once again renewed and you chomp away at the bread. Before long it’s completely gone and your belly just barely satisfied.

With nothing left to eat you scavenge the castle. Optimistically you wonder if there is still some food left but not even a crumb can be found of anything edible that wouldn’t get you sick. Or maybe some of it is hidden in some Dwarven hiding spot but you give up on your search. You’ll have to hunt.

Inexperience made even getting your sights on an unaware animal impossible. But, by some miracle, you were able to rangle yourself a sturdy baby sheep that had strayed too far and injured itself. It wouldn’t last the night. The process was much messier than expected but you aren’t going to grumble as long as it means that you get to eat.

“Um, Smaug, sir.” The resting dragon awakens and is slightly peeved not only by being awakened but also just by your persistent presence.

“What could you possibly need that was so important to wake me?” His tone almost makes you not answer but there is no other way. You don’t know how.

“Could you cook my sheep for me?”  

Silence falls in the hall of gold.

“Human-”

“Y/N.” You flinch as Smaug stares you down for interrupting him.

“Human, just go home. I’m already regretting my decision to let you leave alive.”

“I can’t.” You could but what good would returning to a town with people that wanted to use you as bait. Smaug killed five of their fiercest warriors and yet you, the quiet orphan child, survived. As if you’d last a day without them making an example of you anyway. “I don’t have one.”

“My home will not become yours if that is what you are not so subtly implying. This is my house, my gold, and I will share none of it with the likes of you. You’ve already lost any entertainment value.”

You come up with an idea at the mention of gold. “How about I become your burglar?”

“Excuse me? My burglar? Why would I need one? Especially such an incompetent human.”

You ignore his comment and explain. “Sure you have a lot of gold now but you could have more. As a dragon, and such a mighty and majestic one as yourself, you are bound to attract attention.” Stroking his ego really worked and seems to have appealed not only to his pride but his greed. “Me, I can get in and out without drawing any attention. I can steal more wealth for you.”

“And what exactly do you expect in return for your service?” Smaug restrains himself but the defense is not quite as strong anymore. All the tension in his face has loosened but Smaug’s imposing pressure still remains.

“An occasional home. I need to unload my loot and revitalize myself after a scavenge. Other than those days you will retain your home and all of your gold. All to yourself.”

“Set out tomorrow.”

You smile and Smaug perfectly cooks your sheep within a second. With an objective and a full belly you sleep soundly in a pile of gold, unexpectedly excited for your adventure and budding partnership.

The first delivery of gold, stolen from your old town’s treasurer, proves to be a hefty first grab. The town mayor had been skimming off the top of every payment of taxes from the people. He would raise the taxes and take even more. The man was so poor at managing his debts that he didn’t realize until it was too late that he had taken far more than he should have. Payments were missed and his wealth would be exposed if he suddenly paid everything in full.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to go two nights in a row. The mayor is already on edge and security will be tight, especially because the townsfolk are less than pleased to discover such a stab in the back from such a powerful figure. Serves them right.

That night and the next pass by calmly but you do notice an oddity about Smaug. Despite being so large and regal he has a very particular way of sleeping. Much like how a dog will splay their legs when sleeping on their stomachs, Smaug does the same. He will always end up in an coil by the end of the night, shaped like a crescent moon, but those first few hours he is always in that doglike position. It brought a very parent like smile to your face. Huh, regal my ass. You’re still an animal.

Eventually hunting while traveling got easier. Whether it be scavenging or getting an animal it all got easier. The trips didn’t seem to drag on for quite as long and you rarely get caught anymore. A master pickpocket and thief. During the course of your growth Smaug has become a great comfort. Even though he isn’t warm or sweet when you come back it has been nice returning to a place that doesn’t feel empty or foreign. To have a steady home makes your life feel more stable and secure.

But this time the return home went very differently.

The wound on your side dampens your clothing, making it hug your body. Dizzy and weak you collapse on the floor. You crawl your way to the gold room but are too weak to do anything but look over the edge.

“Hey big guy. Sorry I’m late-I got a little caught up with something.” The smell of blood assaults Smaug nose.

He moves faster than you’ve ever seen. For a moment it strikes fear into your core to see him charging towards you but it dissipates when he stops short.

“Who did this?” Smaug’s voice is tough, callous, and tight. It’s been so long since you’ve heard him sound so cold and menacing, like the dragon you first met.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” You force a smile but you don’t have the strength to keep it. Smaug’s face keeps going in and out of focus, your eyelids feeling heavy.

“Who. Did. This.” Smaug’s eyes glow from within and his scales brighten, the fire brewing in his belly.

“The villagers from my town. They…they ambushed me. They blame me for the town falling apart.”

Gossip is the main form of entertainment and despite the vast distance between settlements news of a masked burglar wearing old Dwarven amour ransacking towns spread. The figure was never clearly identified but anyone could tell the thief was human as the amour never fits quite right. After digging in the rumors, and tailing you, they discovered that instead of being eaten by a dragon that you were in fact pillaging towns enraged them.

Now you can feel your life slipping away. Drained of all energy there is no amount of fighting or wishing that is going to save you. Smaug watches you die. His golden eyes harden as you stroke his snout.

“Thanks for letting me be your burglar. It’s be a pleasure working for you, big guy.”

Too tired to keep your eyes open you close them and drift off into sleep. You armor clad arm clatters to the ground, blood no longer coursing through your veins. For two days Smaug contemplates what he should do. Should he stay with his increased wealth or should he venture out again? Once he looks at your corpse again he knows what to do.

With the wind clamouring against his skin for the first time in years Smaug takes the short flight to the new settlement your old town built. It’s in its first stages of growth. Everything is made of wood and whatever else they could find to piece it all together. A young town filled with horrendous people.

Smaug unleashes a blaze of massive flames. People shriek in disbelief and horror as their homes and family burn alive. The possibility for their new lives and town snuffed out like a candle on a breezy day.

Back at the castle Smaug destroys the only outward entrance, encapsulating the castle in darkness. Smaug grabs your body in his jaws and rests your body against the wall. He nudges your arms and legs until your corpse is now seated. You look like a waiting guard, protecting the enormous wealth to your side. With nothing left to do, no stories to fill the silence, and no more jubilant laughter Smaug waits. He doesn’t know for what but he waits, patient and with his head held high.

He looks at all his gold and buries his head in the pile of new jewels and gold. The newest loot still smells of you. And soon Smaug joins you in slumber revisiting the memories of his closest companion. His unlikely partner in crime.


End file.
